The Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) board of directors meeting held Apr. 28 produced the following highlights.
The TNRD board approved $140,000 for the construction of an addition and front entrance improvements at the Little Fort Community Hall located at 148 Highway 24, Little Fort, in Area “O”.
• $10,000 was provided to fund the completion of a GIS inventory and digital mapping of the Vavenby Community Water System in Area “A”.
• $5,000 was provided to fund the installation of a water meter to service the Canadian Forest Products Ltd. sawmill located at 2992 McCorvie Road, Vavenby, in Area “A”.
MP Cathy McLeod attended and provided an update on the federal budget at the board meeting. She highlighted the aspects of the budget that had the greatest impact on local governments. She also responded to questions from directors.
A public hearing was held for Land Use Contract Termination and Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2547, 2016, and the bylaw was adopted. The bylaw shifts land use regulation from a Land Use Contract to zoning. Depending on existing use, the 73 Whitecroft properties will be zoned either R-1: Residential Single and Two Family zone; or CR-1: Country Residential zone; or AF-1: Agricultural/Forestry.
A public hearing was held for South Thompson Valley and Pinantan Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 2568, 2016, and Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 2569, 2016. These bylaws, which change the permitted density of future development at 3159, 3163 and 3161 Shuswap Road, were adopted by the board. The applicant wishes to redesignate Lot 7 from Forestry/Grazing & Hazard Lands to Rural Residential & Hazard Lands, and to rezone the property from SH-1: Small Holding to CR-1: Country Residential to allow for subdivision of the property into five two-acre parcels.
Through adoption of Bylaw 2571, the TNRD board created an Agriculture Advisory Commission (AAC) for all Electoral Areas of the TNRD.
The AAC will be comprised of eight members appointed by the board of directors, and contain representatives from the following sectors: cattle, dairy, vegetable growers, farmers market, the agrologist profession, and agriculture economics/funding agencies or other agriculture sector producers. The following matters will be referred to the AAC for their consideration and advice:
• Applications initiated under the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) Act.
• Zoning and other bylaws within or impacting the ALR or for agricultural uses.
• Official community plans within or impacting the ALR or for agricultural uses.
• Agricultural area plans.
• Farm “edge” policies.
• Major development proposals with potential impact on agriculture.
• Irrigation, drainage and other water management issues.
• High level solid waste management planning.
• Noxious insect and weed control regulations and programs where the TNRD is directly involved.
Staff were authorized to carry out a public assent process by petition seeking approval for elimination of the Upper Clearwater Community Hall Grant-In-Aid Service. A survey was recently conducted in the Upper Clearwater area, asking if the Upper Clearwater Community Hall Grant-In-Aid Service should be eliminated.
The results demonstrated a clear divide in the community concerning the situation, triggering a formal public-assent process to finally determine if the service should remain or should be eliminated. The petitions will be distributed by direct mail to each property owner with a closing date of noon on June 14, 2016.
A total of 58 petitions are requested for sufficiency, with an assessment of at least $9,879,225.